[governance] Net neutrality on mobiles
SAMUELS,Carlton A
carlton.samuels at uwimona.edu.jm
Fri Aug 13 16:15:39 EDT 2010
Dear Deidre:
No, perish the thought. This is a space for exchanging ideas on this or any related other subject, even with folks who may describe themselves as experts. In context, you touched on a very important question that brought several intriguing ideas top of mind. Is the use of social engineering - the matter of using the data and information derived and extracted from the observed behaviour of the crowd - to exact ordered behavior for profit or advantage ever desirable?
Here is the thing. "Free" is never so free. At least not on the Internet. This is perhaps the most direct contemporary instance that underscores the value associated with data...and the price of "knowing". That knowing comes with a price tag. The only difference is that the Internet model upends the idea of who gets the bill; it isn't always obvious since the guy judged with the greater ability to pay real dollars often is the one who gets the bill. In fact the business model has people competing to pay your bill. So now, ask yourself, why would someone want to pay my ticket? Let me extend the rule of thumb in this way. If you get a service, however slight that service, so long as it consumes resources in provisioning, someone pays. Take this like an article of faith: there truly are no free lunches.
I teach Information Science and we are forever exhorting our students to group work, extolling the benefits of collaboration. Then we are stumped when they use bits and pieces of content from here and there in a 'mashup' paper without recording the source of every idea. The collective has a downside. [Apropos, there was a very interesting blog entry in the NYT this week on plagiarism.]
Undoubtedly, there is a place for 'rugged' individualism. The importance of that one person - that brilliant contrarian - to innovation because they dare to think outside the box is well known to history. Indeed, it is sometimes the centerpiece of national myths. American mythmaking, for example, have written out of history - some say whitewash - the life-giving help extended to the early European colonists by Native Americans to burnish this ideal. Individualism can go only so far in some things.
There are equally compelling tales of innovation generated in the collective brilliance of the crowd. Group think, you might say, in furtherance of the common good. We almost intuitively understand that when the power equation is in play, maybe 'crowding' is the single best response for those who are weaker in that construct; the classic reason for collaborating. And sharing the pain - and rewards -is the orthodox posture in movements beyond memory, even whole societies. There are enough exemplars from the lives of social animals like bees and ants to go round and underline the case. And then there are the ills that come with a crowd; think of yob behavior experienced by football fans in certain countries or the lynch mobs of too many places.
People and things share attributes that if combined, can bode ill..or good. [Interestingly enough, the Latin root for 'conspire' means 'to breathe together'!] I will always be humble and concede that I cannot always determine outcomes. For in this life there always shall be too many uncontrollable variables; be it with business or people. But I would very much prefer to know what attributes are in play that might affect all possible outcomes. I want to "know" what "they" know!
For the 'knowing' is always better than not.
Carlton
From: Deirdre Williams [mailto:williams.deirdre at gmail.com]
Sent: Wednesday, August 11, 2010 11:34 AM
To: governance at lists.cpsr.org; parminder
Subject: Re: [governance] Net neutrality on mobiles
Dear Parminder and everyone,
I am very conscious of the fact that I am NOT a techie, so please forgive me if I am stating the obvious/making a fool of myself or both. As far as I am concerned "network neutrality" speaks to the management of the hardware, software and traffic of the internet to preserve interoperability and open equitable access
... a civil society advocacy group perspective which needs to
probe the deeper policy issues and come up with responses that serve
the progressive cause and advoacte them strongly on behalf of those who
cannot be present in these forums but whose lives are nonetheless
greatly affected by these developments.
In any case, at least in my view, Internet is not just a market place, it is a social space for our non-commerical social interactions, it is a public media and a public sphere, it is a space for exercising citizenship. Perhaps without discussions on these deeper issues and essential nature of the Internet and what we take it to be, discussions on a 'simple act' of a free Internet based service wont go anywhere.
I was prodded into replying by what Parminder has to say quoted above. This aspect of the Internet is deeply important to me. For some time I have been alarmed at and thinking about a predatory behaviour online which I describe to myself as "webherding". Subsequently I discovered that other people call the same phenomenon "social engineering" which sounds almost respectable :-)
Herding behaviour is something that man has learned to make use of to his benefit - but at the same time sharks do it, wolves do it, very much to the detriment of that which is herded. When herded, creatures lose their individuality, and the possibility of innovation, the possibility of choice. A world is created which is the diametric opposite of the type of world the Internet is sold to us as being.
Somehow our perception of the world has been shifted to a focus where business ethics have become a sort of norm - if it is good business then it is also generally good and should not be questioned.
Deirdre
Parminder
Innovation tumbles over innovation, that's the law.
Carlton
-----Original Message-----
From: Ginger Paque [mailto:gpaque at gmail.com]
Sent: Sunday, August 08, 2010 7:37 AM
To: governance at lists.cpsr.org<mailto:governance at lists.cpsr.org>; Ian Peter
Subject: Re: [governance] Net neutrality on mobiles
Ian and Parminder,
This is an interesting point for me, but I wonder where the line is
between advertising and other issues, like 'free benefits' which David
mentions. For instance, when text messaging was first available in
Venezuela, it was free. It was free for long enough to get everyone
hooked on it. Then they started charging for it.
It is difficult for me to see this as a NN issue since it sounds more
like a 'free trial', or a 'package deal' that attracts customers. My
serious issues with NN are lack of transparency, not marketing.
Where do you see this 'line'?
I think this is a good time to discuss NN so that we can be more
productive in Vilnius.
Best, Ginger
On 8/7/2010 11:23 PM, Ian Peter wrote:
Hi Parminder,
Unfortunately Australia has already jumped ship on this too. It is common
practice for ISPs here (who have volume charging regimes) to create free
zones of their partner sites which do not attract volume charges and/or
traffic shaping when people exceed download limits. Nobody here seems to
want to pick this up as an issue. To me, this is a distortion of a free
market and an open Internet at the same time and should be attracting a lot
more attention.
The mobile world, as you mention, brings with it other distortions and
potential distortions (eg built in apps and interfaces)
I agree - we should discuss.
Ian Peter
From: parminder<parminder at itforchange.net><mailto:parminder at itforchange.net>
Reply-To:<governance at lists.cpsr.org><mailto:governance at lists.cpsr.org>, parminder<parminder at itforchange.net><mailto:parminder at itforchange.net>
Date: Sun, 08 Aug 2010 08:51:02 +0530
To:<governance at lists.cpsr.org><mailto:governance at lists.cpsr.org>,<ciresearchers at vancouvercommunity.net><mailto:ciresearchers at vancouvercommunity.net>
Subject: [governance] Net neutrality on mobiles
Hi All
The biggest mobile operator in India, Airtel, is providing Facebook free
of data download charges in India (apparently, only for 2 months). I
understand this is happening in other countries too; i read about
something similar in Russia.
I consider this as an outright violation of net neutrality (NN).
Since there are existing codes of conduct on NN in some countries like
Norway and Brazil, I will like to know from those who know and
understand these country specific arrangements well if such a thing as
above will be considered a NN violation under these codes.
If indeed developing countries are to have any chance of being a part of
shaping and governing the future of the Internet, we should start
testing such cases as above with the telecom regulatory authourities,
and if needed with courts and anti-trust bodies.
Parminder
PS: See latest developments on NN debate in the US at
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2010/08/google-verizon-close-to-their-
own-net-neutrality-deal.ars
It appears that there is some move to treat wireless or mobile based
Internet on a different level vis a vis NN than wired Internet.
As the largest market players - here, Verizon and Google - seek to
arrive at a mutually convenient arrangement, and the only other party
to it is the US gov, itself representing very partisan, and largely
dominant, interests, as far as the global public Internet is concerned,
the real shape of global IG is quite evident. Where does the IGF, and
indeed the IGC come into this may be a question that we need to ponder
upon.
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"The fundamental cure for poverty is not money but knowledge" Sir William Arthur Lewis, Nobel Prize Economics, 1979
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